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The Cosmos
"The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us -- there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.”-Carl Sagan About The cosmos is the seemingly endless ocean of darkness that contains everything that has ever been created since the beginning of time from the tiniest grain to the largest mountain. It's home to the stars and the god of knowledge and wisdom Aristillus the Starmaker who has dedicated his life to filling it with wonders and mapping its boundless frontiers. General History In the beginning there was only the void, an ever expanding universe of nothing and at its center were the the Mother of Magic and her companion, the Forebearer and together they created the pantheon, a family of individuals created to help manage and oversee the creation of their first world. Back then the cosmos was mainly empty, with only the Sun, Moon and various left over materials from creation. There were no stars to light up the skies at night, no other planets or heavenly bodies, just an expanding void with nothing to fill it. It was when a young Aristillus questioned what the night sky was hiding...or rather what it could be that he was given domain over it and allowed to fill it with wonders. To him it was a universe of endless possibility and to be his crowning achievement, the pinnacle of ingenuity and creativity. It was to be a natural wonder made to challenge the people of Ga'leah and inspire them from the world below. Using his knowledge of magic and physics, he began to fill the void that had birthed the pantheon and produced planets, moons and asteroid belts. However for the Starmaker who had found himself traveling further and further away from the source of creation, the cosmos seemed like a lonely and mainly dead place. Speaking to the gods and collecting their words of wisdom on the matter, Aristillus began an initiative to seed life throughout the void. However it seemed no matter what worlds he visited or what life he had tried to plant on them, none would sustain a living being. Aristillus obsessed over the subject, traveled to countless worlds and spoke with some of the wisest creatures in Ga'leah and Allutheria trying to find an answer. However ultimately it was concluded that life could not exist because other planets did not have a pantheon to keep nature balanced. Without a Stormbringer to manage the climate, without a Greenman to detoxify the atmosphere or a Coming Tide to direct the currents of alien seas, extraterrestrial worlds seemed unstable and unsuited for life. It was finally he decided to create a being that'd be autonomous able to survive in the vacuum of infinity without food, without water, air or even a planet. It was from Aristillus' knowledge of alchemy and experimentation with the remnants of creation that he created the first stars. Like fireflies they lit up the night sky, inspiring men to greatness and to reach ever higher. They filled the cosmos with life, documented history and allowed for easier travel by night. Although above all else they were the children of the Starmaker and his most beloved creation. Since the fall of the pantheon, it was discovered that indeed the stars were vulnerable to the blight and in order to combat it, Aristillus has been doing what he could in order to create distance from the world below. Also because his power has been becoming less reliable, it's been said Aristillus has made the cosmos fully autonomous. In that like a cosmic clock the heavenly bodies would experience cycles of life and death, creation and destruction. E.G. from meteor impacts new moons would be created on alien worlds, from supernovas new stars would be born, etc. Planets and Moons Planets and moons are massive monuments usually visible in the night sky dedicated to a god or goddess in the pantheon. Forged from the elements they follow a predictable path and are often used to keep track of the seasons as well as various holidays and festivals. Whether or not life may exist on them is up for debate. It is rumored that there have been attempts to seed them in the past, but proved to be for the most part unsuccessful due to their inhospitable conditions. The Ga'lean Solar System: •The Sun: Some believe it is not a coincidence Ga'Leah revolves around this massive solar body and mainly has to do with the Lightgiver's ego. But it cannot be denied that without it life could not be sustained and the natural order of things kept in check. •The Huntress: The smallest and swiftest of the planets, it's also the closest to the Sun. It was said to have been created to commemorate her passing. •The Reveler: Closest to Ga'Leah and second from the sun, it has a colorful tint to it from the various gases that cling to its surface. Said to be created as a token of celebration by a drunken Aristillus hence why it seems to be slightly tilted. •Ga'leah: Out of all the miracles that occur in the universe, a planet like Ga'leah is the most rare in the sense it houses a wide variety of life. It's only through the cooperation of the gods and the contributions of all they created that such an impossible place can exist. However it now seems as if it’s in danger as the natural order of life and death has been violated and the blight has emerged from some strange unknown origin. o The Moon: Illuminating the night sky it is under the domain of the Moon Maiden. •The Death Dealer- A blood red world with plenty of trenches and canals marring its surface, it gets its coloring from rusted metal deposits in the soil. It was created to appease the Death Dealer. •The Stormbringer: A large world of endless storms and thick clouds of poisonous gas, its biggest storm manifests as a large spot, which is said can be seen from Ga'leah when the planet is in view. •The Forebearers: A world surrounded by a ring of brilliant color, it was said Aristillus created this world out of the love he had for his parents. Mainly composed of gas, it also stands out as one of the largest planets in the solar system and dwarfs Ga'leah many times over. •The Coming Tide: A blue world with a toxic slushy ocean, its strange blue color makes it almost instantly synonymous with the goddess it was dedicated to. It's the most recent addition to the solar system and was designed by Aristillus as a kind of headstone for the goddess who sacrificed herself. oThe Still Water: A small moon dedicated to the minor deity, it circles around the planet and is ironically void of water. •The Soul Reaper: Perhaps the coldest world in the solar system, it's characteristics are similar to that of a corpse in the sense that its cold and pale. Dedicated to the soul reaper. Stars and Constellations A Star, in its natural state, is a constantly expanding and contracting energy source and sentient being created by the Starmaker. They breed curiosity among men and offer guidance and insight by their light and movement. Female Stars are organized into distinctive family units called Constellations composed of several Stars born and named around the same time and are consequently quite social. Because each Star shares a telepathic bond with the other Stars in her Constellation, the loss of any one Star is felt and mourned by all her sisters. Male Stars are significantly more reserved and serve a more specific role, acting as messengers and errand runners for the Starmaker. An old wive's tale that shooting Stars bring good news is inaccurate -- Shooting Stars regularly deliver bad news too. The Starmaker did not create Stars with a means to procreate, though physical collisions have been known to take place resulting in fusion Stars. New Stars are formed by the Starmaker, typically from the remnants of dying stars and each are given a name and title by the God of Knowledge. Star conception requires many thousands of years so consequently their lifespans can last hundreds of thousands of years. In the sky, Stars have very few dangers to beware of and typically lead relatively stress free lives. A Star can be summoned by magic, but only if the summoner knows the Star's true name, assigned by the Starmaker. Though Stars can be summoned into Allutheria, where their true nature is concealed by a human form, they cannot pass into Ga'Leah without magical aid or enchantment lest they turn to space rock. Stars are particularly vulnerable while in human form though, and susceptible to any ordinary mortal affliction. Notable Stars: * [http://ouan.wikia.com/wiki/Aurora_Vauclain Aurora]:''' Summoned to Ga'leah at a young age by her adoptive parents, she was perhaps one of the few stars to ever spend an extended time on Ga'leah. * '''Eve: Perhaps the only female shooting star, she's been tasked to help map out the cosmos and see if life has seeded on any of the worlds beyond Ga'leah. Other Heavenly Bodies * Wormholes: '''Believed to be the product of powerful magic backfiring or failed teleportation spells there are rips in the fabric of space taking those who survive to unknown locations. * '''Black Holes: Black holes are created when a star collapses in on itself and dies. It's a well of gravity in which nothing can escape. At its center matter is collected and compressed, eventually creating new stars. * Quasars: '''Often called "the sparks of creation" quasars are the most distant heavenly bodies known. They are remnants of the creation of the cosmos, usually consisting of reservoir of elements and unharnessed magic. * '''Asteroids/Meteorites: Chunks of metal and stone usually chipped off in the formation of planets, they are found throughout the cosmos. They're rarely found in Ga'leah and are typically valued for the rare extraterrestrial elements harbored within them. They can be used in magical practices, jewelry or in very rare cases weaponry.